One Red Paper clip

CyclingBantam

A while ago I heard about the guy in America who traded with people starting with a Red Paper clip and ending up with a house. This got me thinking, would it be possible, not to trade but to actually sell up a chain using Ebay and make a profit?

If I were to start with £10 in my pocket, how much could I make by hunting out bargains on Ebay and buying and selling my way to more money? I have never tried anything like this before so don't have a clue if I could even sell the first thing I bought let alone make a profit.

I intend on posting back with progress (might be a short thread) and wondered if anyone else was interested in trying the same challenge for a bit of competition.

Anyone got any thoughts, tips advice (ideally not just, Don't do it)?

Thanks

Ben

spen666

have fun

spen666

I meant to say it sounds like a fun challenge if you have the time / motivation to do it.

Keep us informed

Pokerface

Several problems with the eBay model.

First - you need to know the value of everything to know if you're finding a bargain or not.

Second - if you bought it at a reduced price - what makes you think you can sell it at an inflated price in the same marketplace?

Third - as soon as you list something on eBay - you are paying fees. Then more fees when it sells and more fees when you get paid. So although you bought something on the cheap, selling it and MAKING money on the same item is very difficult, especially on a £10 item.

Part of the reason why the trading scheme worked a little better.

rick_chasey

They do it every year at Cambridge University (not on Ebay, but the swapping stuff).


There's also a "bummit" challenge which I know they did at Sheffield Uni where you have to get somewhere far, like Poland, from uni without spending anything on travel.

Ollieda

There are a few people who make a living (or at least claim to) using ebay like you say. General idea is not just to look for people offering a reduction on things but try to find things where people have just badly listed things or misspelt it so people aren't seeing it when they search!

Rick, we used to have something similar to "bummit" at our uni. Called it "Jailbreak" one chap made it all the way to South Africa (wasn't able to bargain his way back though, had to pay for a plane ticket!)

Pross

I would have thought people who make money out of eBay do it by buying up cheap items wholesale and flogging them on rather than trying to pick up bargains from eBay an then re-sell at a profit. I know when I was fishing people used to make up rigs and sell them cheaper than in shops but still making a profit out of people like me who were too lazy / rubbish at making them themselves.

Tom Butcher

Hang on - within about 5 trades he's got a paperclip up to a skidoo.

http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/2005/11/one-famous-skidoo.html

Ollieda

there are loads of different ways of doing it. If often pondered buying up loads of wholesale clothes then selling, can't afford the initial outlay though!

rick_chasey

Ollieda wrote:

Rick, we used to have something similar to "bummit" at our uni. Called it "Jailbreak" one chap made it all the way to South Africa (wasn't able to bargain his way back though, had to pay for a plane ticket!)

Yeah. The difference is, to avoid doing that, bummit all meet at the same location - it's a cash free race.

CyclingBantam

Some really good points made by people on here.

I know what you mean about the fee's and the difficulty of making any money, I guess that is the point of me doing it. I don't have any belief that this will make me rich etc, the challenge is to see if I can, taking all the difficulties in to account, make a profit by finding badly listed item's, sell something for more than it is worth by my description etc.

I don't want to "get rich quick" via ebay, it is a little test... that will no doubt leave me £10 worse off after 1 purchase!

rick_chasey

BenBlyth wrote:

Some really good points made by people on here.

I know what you mean about the fee's and the difficulty of making any money, I guess that is the point of me doing it. I don't have any belief that this will make me rich etc, the challenge is to see if I can, taking all the difficulties in to account, make a profit by finding badly listed item's, sell something for more than it is worth by my description etc.

I don't want to "get rich quick" via ebay, it is a little test... that will no doubt leave me £10 worse off after 1 purchase!

I know someone who used his free £10 on his account when he joined a poker website to play with, evenually winning enough cash to pay his tuition fees.

tebbit

It would be possible if you used car boot sales as your source of stock, best of luck.

Pokerface

BenBlyth wrote:

Some really good points made by people on here.

I know what you mean about the fee's and the difficulty of making any money, I guess that is the point of me doing it. I don't have any belief that this will make me rich etc, the challenge is to see if I can, taking all the difficulties in to account, make a profit by finding badly listed item's, sell something for more than it is worth by my description etc.

I don't want to "get rich quick" via ebay, it is a little test... that will no doubt leave me £10 worse off after 1 purchase!

It will be difficult initially - to find something worth a lot MORE than £10 and buy it for less. If you get lucky at the start, then it becomes interesting.

Once you get past the point where fees and such don't cut into your profit too much, then you can go on to bigger things and faster. (£2 in fees on a £10 item = 20%. £5 in fees on a £100 item = 5%. And so on. Fees go up with sale price, but become a smaller percentage of the overall transaction)

SteveR_100Milers

At the risk of sounding pedantic, you can "get rich" on ebay, there are plenty of traders who use the ebay shop front as part or all of their business (similar concept to Amazon market place). If your product is attractive enough and your margins are good then you can just as easily make money as anywhere else.

bilirubin

If you keep your eyes peeled and look at some of the more obscure items there are bargains to be had on Ebay that can be sold on at a profit.

My son in law has been looking for a new fish tank to start keeping marine fish in, he wanted a corner tank so he did his homework and the model he was looking for was going at anywhere between £450.00 and £600.00.

He picked one up yesterday for £180.00 "buy it now" c/w a special overhead light worth another couple of hundred pounds, it seemed the seller never had a clue what he was selling.

Also a friend of mine does it buying cheap collectables in this country then re-selling them on Ebay.com listed in dollars instead of pounds, the americans cannot get enough of the stuff, they even pay over the odds for the P&P.

Good luck

Frank the tank

I've heard the bottom has dropped out of the red paperclip market, try starting with a purple one.

Jez mon

Not a whole lot of help but...

Generally when I was using eBay quite a bit to try and raise cash, I found what made a large amount of difference was ensuring my auction ended on a friday/saturday/sunday sometime during the evening.

When buying, watch a number of similar items the preceding week to get a feel for the market. Then set a budget and stick to it!!

TBH, it's all common sense, but it's how I was able to buy and sell an 8 gig iPod touch for the same price (more or less) after about 1.5 years of use!

Stick8267

Had a friend who did this for a while.

She said the important items to look for are collectibles placed in the wrong category (did very well with car badges for instance). Really need to do your research though.

In combination with acquiring stuff at car boot sales and selling it on she made enough money one year to pay tax!

bilirubin

Stick8267 wrote:

Had a friend who did this for a while.

In combination with acquiring stuff at car boot sales and selling it on she made enough money one year to pay tax!

I keep hearing about this "paying tax", what is it???

surreyxc

a lot of work, but you should be able to get results. Ebay is similar to the stock market in a way, buying commodities at one price then selling at another.

I guess a lot has to do with marketing, I am often put off by ebay ads with bad spelling, photos, communication.

Also to buy when demand is low, so mid week, mid day, or buy lights in the summer, sell in the winter etc.

You could also extend the parameters to include Gumtree etc. I reckon often classifieds in local papers have the best deals. I had a friend who would scan the local ads for audio equipment. I remember he purchased a Quad amp, which only needed an internal fuse changed it was worth about £500, he got it for £50. I got an £800 xt specced bike for £100 as the women had to move house that week.

My best was buying a Renault 5 with 35k on the clock for £300 using it for two years, then selling on Ebay with new clutch required for £400

cal_stewart

i might give it ago.

Buckled_Rims

bilirubin wrote:

Stick8267 wrote:

Had a friend who did this for a while.

In combination with acquiring stuff at car boot sales and selling it on she made enough money one year to pay tax!

I keep hearing about this "paying tax", what is it???

For a start "Capital Gains Tax". It's how the government screws anyone who tries to make an extra buck.

SNACK-HEAD

I will start you off by reluctantly selling you my favorite paper clip for £10.